The Potter Twins
by CloudSpires1295
Summary: A series of oneshots of varying lengths, depicting different scenes from throughout the series with the inclusion of my OC, and Harry's twin sister, Anastasia Dorea Potter. No pairings as of yet, but definitely possible as the shots go on.
1. Prelude: July 31st 1980

**I decided that, before I wrote the Hagrid chapter, I'd post a little prelude, namely the day the twins were born. I'm in the mood for a little bit of fluff and, yeah, I know, I probably should've posted this first. Without further ado... July 31st, 1980.**

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><p>"Seven sickles it's a boy." Sirius murmured to Remus and Peter, smirking cheekily. Remus rolled his eyes and Peter gave a small, squealing sort of laugh at his friend's exuberance. The three Marauders were seated in the waiting area of St. Mungo's, waiting for news on Lily, who'd gone into labor earlier that day.<p>

James had sent a rather ecstatic patronus to each of them, announcing the imminent birth of his child. The stag had cantered and kicked about the room as the Potter's eager voice told them of Lily's waters breaking, much to Sirius's amusement. He intended to tease his best friend mercilessly about it.

"Alright then," Remus rolled his eyes, "seven sickles it's a girl."

Before the dog animagus could speak up, their attention was accosted as a tall, lean man with messy black hair, bright hazel eyes, and a smile so bright it was near-blinding comically burst out of the examination area. James looked around anxiously, searching for his friends. He spotted them across the room and, if possible, his smile got even brighter and wider.

"_PADS,_" he cried, running across the waiting room, "_MOONY! WORMY!_" the Healer behind the reception desk scowled at him and shushed him. Jame rolled his eyes and grabbed Sirius by the collar, shaking him violently, "Pads, I'm a _Daddy!_"

"I kind of figured that was what you called us all up here for, mate," Sirius chuckled, grasping James' wrists and tugging, "you could let go of me now, you barmy git."

"Oops," The new father relinquished his hold on his best mate and turned to the other Marauders, "well? Come on, then. Lily's accepting visitors, so long as you keep it quiet."

"Oh, right then," Remus stood at once, "lead the way, Prongs." The other three Marauders proceeded to snort and snicker as the Potter patriarch all but skipped across the room to the door leading to the area where Lily was resting but, none the less, they were happy to see him so excited, especially with the messy war going on between the Order, the Death Eaters, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

*Lily's Room*

Lily had the pleasure of watching Sirius's jaw drop comically as he entered the room to find her cradling not one, but two little bundles in her arms. A tired smile formed on her lips as James squeezed through Sirius and Remus to return to her side and gently scoop one of the babies out of her arms. Her emerald gaze flickered down to the little one sleeping against her breast and she gently kissed their forehead gently, nuzzling the downy auburn strands.

"Well," Sirius finally closed his mouth, swallowing thickly, "you don't halfway do anything, do you, Prongsy?"

"_Halfway_?" Lily snorted sarcastically, "I'll daresay that I did most of the work."

"And you did a lovely job, Lily-Flower," James dropped a tender kiss on her lips before returning his attentions to his best mate, "Sirius, may I _proudly _present to you... Harry James Potter, or, as we _finally_ came to a decision," he scowled playfully at his wife, who childishly stuck her tongue out at him in return, "your godson."

"My... my _godson_?" The Black heir looked completely and utterly stunned, "you made _me_ his _godfather_? How thick can you get, mate?" A glowing smile broke out on his face as James gently placed Harry in his arms, "I'm going to corrupt him yet. Yes, he's got the makings of a Junior Marauder." The baby gave a soft coo and opened brilliant emerald eyes, peering up at the new face above him curiously.

"Oh," Sirius murmured, "hello there, Prongslet." It was easy to see that the man was completely taken with the new little life he cradled in his arms. Remus and Peter moved closer to him to take a look at Harry.

"Merlin, Prongs, were you trying to make a little doppelganger?" Remus chuckled, "he looks just like you."

"Save for the eyes," Peter added, "he's got those from his beautiful mother."

Lily and James exchanged a look and a smile before the former gently passed the second bundle to her husband, murmuring something in his ear. James nodded once and cradled the baby gently to his chest. The Marauders, who'd been absorbed in Harry, looked up, suddenly remembering the second baby.

"And this pretty little thing," the Potter pressed a kiss to the baby's forehead, "is Anastasia Dorea Potter. Our daughter and, if he'll not be too stubborn and accept it, Moony's goddaughter."

Remus's eyes went wide and he looked from James to Lily incredulously, "you can't be serious..."

"No, I'm Sirius," Sirius snickered, and then smiled as little Harry pressed a palm to his face, "yes, Prongslet, that's my face. Handsome, isn't it?"

"We're completely serious... no pun intended," Lily rolled her eyes at Sirius before turning her attentions entirely to Remus, "come on, Rem, do you really think we would've made you Ana's godfather if we weren't sure she'd be safe with you?"

"Yeah, Moony," James added, "I'd daresay you've got a pretty good handle on that furry little problem of yours. Here," he held out the little baby carefully, "hold her and let her work her magic on you."

Somewhat nervously, Remus took little Anastasia in his arms and cradled her carefully, using the fingers of one hand to move the pale lavender blanket away from her face. When he took in the familiar features, the werewolf shot a smile at Lily and James, "I think Lily succeeded where you fell short, James. She's as beautiful as her mother."

"Thank you, Moony," Lily smiled sweetly and then smirked cheekily at her husband, "and you said it wouldn't happen." James rolled his eyes and perched on the edge of his wife's bed, wrapping an arm around her gently, "oh, be quiet, you," he kissed her cheek, "how are you feeling? Do you need any pain potions or-"

"James Charlus," Mrs. Potter murmured, squeezing his hand, "I'd only just had a dose of pain potions just a few minutes before you left to get the others. Don't be such a worrywart, it isn't becoming of you."

"I suppose that you'll want to send a birth announcement to your insipid sister and her fat git of a husband, won't you?" James scowled to himself, "I can't believe the barmy git didn't understand what a racing broom was."

"They're muggles, James,"Lily responded, "of _course_ they wouldn't understand what a racing broom is. It's the nice thing to do, keep the peace," she tapped her chin, "they have a son, you know."

"I bet he's nothing more than a ball of blubber," the Potter snorted bemusedly, "with that _whale_ as his father, the poor sod has no chance."

"_James_," the auburn haired witch warned, trying to keep her own laughter at bay, "don't be that way, it isn't right or nice. You silly toerag."

Their attentions were drawn back to the men as Sirius passed Harry to Peter so he could claim Anastasia from Remus. For some odd reason, the Potter matriarch felt a wave of troubling unease wash over her when her precious son graced the clutches of the rat animagus. She didn't let him out of her sight once while he held her child, and felt cool relief flooding her veins when Harry was finally given to Remus. Her shoulders, which had risen a bit, felt back to a more relaxed position.

"Lils," James poked her side gently, "what's wrong? Why were you looking at Pete like that?"

"No reason," she responded quickly, "just... if you'd read the baby books I bought, you'd understand that new mothers tend to get a bit leery when they haven't held their children for an extended amount of time." _There. A perfect cover_.

"Well, I never got a chance to read them because _someone_," her husband nuzzled her neck playfully, "always had their nose buried in them. Little bookworm, aren't you?"

"Don't give me that sod-awful excuse," the witch turned her nose up in the air, "I wasn't reading them _all _the time... maybe _most_ but not all, and besides," she cuffed him in the head, "whenever I _wasn't_ reading, you were out on Order business and playing a few pick-up games of Quidditch."

The unease returned for a repeat performance when Peter got to hold Anastasia and, this time, Lily found that she wasn't the only one who was picking up odd vibes from Wormtail. Remus and Sirius, in particular, were casting a few concerned looks in his direction whenever they weren't absorbed in little Harry. James' grip on her hand had tightened somewhat and, before another minute had passed, he was up and holding out his arms for their daughter.

"Hello, Ana," James cooed, and then pouted, "she was asleep the whole time she was being passed about, Lils."

"Because she's only concerned about her rest," Lily chided as Sirius reluctantly passed Harry back to her, "Harry'll probably be a curious little thing when he gets older."

"Well, I guess we don't have to pay up, Moony," Sirius teased, "we were both right. So," he kissed Lily's cheek, "when will you and the ickle Prongslets be heading back home?"

"Tomorrow at noon, if every thing checks out alright," she responded, brushing a thumb across Harry's cheek, "and you can't call them both Prongslet, it'll be confusing when they get older."

"Prongslet and _Prongslette_?" the Black heir amended, placing emphasis on the feminine ending, "would that be better for you, Tiger Lily?" She shrugged, glancing up at her husband, who was completely absorbed in his daughter's small, round face, "what say you, James?"

"Oi," Sirius poked his best mate to get his attention, "look at you, Prongs, not even a day old and ickle Pronglette's already got you by the short and curlies."

"Shut up, Pads," James snipped, cuddling Anastasia a little closer, "and Prongslet and Prongslette sound fine to me."

"Alright, then," Remus leaned over to kiss Lily's cheek, "I'll be leaving you two to your rest and bonding with the little ones," and a bright smile spread over his cheeks, "and thank you so much for trusting me to be Ana's godfather."

"Oh, Moony, it was nothing," James waved a dismissive hand, "just keep a good handle on that misbehaving rabbit of yours, will you?" Sirius and Peter snorted and Remus rolled his eyes, "of course, Prongs," and, with a kiss on each of the babies foreheads, the werewolf was headed home.

"I'll be going as well," Peter's eyes were a little too shifty for Lily's liking, and she was wholly relieved by his imminent departure, "alright then, Pete, thank you for coming down to see the children."

"Yeah, Wormy, and stop being a stranger," James slapped his fellow Marauder on the back, "you should drop by the cottage some time."

"Right, right, of course, Prongs." Wormtail smiled wanly and waved before all but darting out of the room. Sirius looked after him in confusion, "I wonder what's gotten into him. Sod's been acting a bit barmy if you ask me."

"It's Pete, Pads, he's okay," James looked concerned as well, "maybe you should drop by his place and see about him yourself."

"I just might," Sirius shrugged noncommittally, "well, I guess I'll have to deprive you lot of my handsome, glorious, illustrious presence then, yeah?" Lily yawned loudly and James snorted with amusement, "The Misses has spoken. It's time to get some sleep."

"Congratulations, Prongs," Padfoot hugged his mate carefully, "I haven't seen you this happy since the nigh unattainable Lily Evans finally decided to marry you."

"Thanks, mate, I don't think I've been that happy since then," James bit his lip, "with the war going on and the Order... We haven't really had much time to dwell on the simple stuff like happiness and joy. Soon, I'm going to have to get back out there again."

"Well, look at it this way," Sirius murmured, "Harry and Ana are two more things you've got to fight harder for."

"Quite right, Pads, quite right," the Potter patriarch gave a nod, still looking somber, "I wish my parents could've been here. Mum would've loved Harry, Ana, and Lily, wouldn't she?"

"Yep, and your Dad would've been proud as punch because that's three generations of Potter men with this ridiculous eternal bedhead," the dog animagus ruffled James' hair gently, "I'm going home now, Prongs, you and Lady Prongs, and the ickle Prongslet and Prongslette get some sleep. I'll come by the Hollow tomorrow when you're settled in, yeah?"

"Sounds good, mate," James turned away to lay Anastasia in the little bassinet next to the bed, and Lily laughed sleepily as Sirius took Harry from her and stared into his sleepy emerald eyes, "you and I are going to stir up so much mischief, your prefect of a mum won't know what to do with the two of us." The newborn cracked what looked like a smile and yawned adorably in his godfather's face.

"I'm pretty certain it's _my_ job to corrupt him, Pads," James teased, taking Harry from the other man, "you be careful heading home. You never know when the Death Eaters might pop up."

"Will do," Sirius kissed Lily's cheek and then rounded the bed to kiss the sleeping Ana on her forehead, "and this one will probably be obsessed with chocolate before she's a year old, with Moony as her godfather. Don't fret, though, there's plenty of room for a girl in our ranks. Sleep well, Prongslette." With a fancy wave, the heir of the House of Black was gone from the room, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Godric, the children aren't even a day old and Sirius is already planning out world domination," she giggled, and then patted the bed, "transfigure the bed and make it bigger, Mr. Potter. It wouldn't do to have you sleep in that uncomfortable looking chair."

James placed his son in the bassinet next to his sister and, upon watching him fall asleep, pulled his wand from his pocket and waved it at the bed. The bed stretched out to accomadate another person, and the Potter kicked off his shoes and climbed in next to his wife. Lily cuddled into his side and let her eyes flutter shut, but not before taking in her precious twins one last time.

Faintly, she heard James mumble his love for her and sleepily mumbled it back before Morpheus claimed their consciousness. A nurse peeked into the room a hour later and found the couple sleeping together. She rolled her eyes, seeing that the bed had been transfigured and smiled at the adorable little family before shutting the door behind her.

_May this war not tear them apart..._

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><p><strong>Yeah, Peter didn't talk as much, but we'll chalk that up to him being afraid of revealing that he's gone and switched sides on the others. I hoped you guys liked it. Tried my best to stay in character with everyone. The Hagrid chapter should be ready in a week or two, maybe less.<strong>

**~_CloudSpires1295_~**


	2. A Mysterious Letter

**So, it's occurred to me that, with only three months to go until I start college, I wouldn't have time to write an actual HP fanfic, as much as I want to, so I've relegated myself to picking out a few of my favorite scenes from the series, minus the seventh book, as I haven't finished it yet, and rewriting them to work in my OC, Harry's twin sister. ****Yes, the "Harry has a twin" thing has been done so many times, but I'd like to try it for myself.**

**Harry's sister's name is Anastasia Dorea Potter, Ana for short, and, yes, I know we don't know who James' parents were, but a lot of people go with Charlus and Dorea Potter, hence the middle name. The reason I chose Anastasia for her first name, well, I did a little searching online and found a hybrid type of Lily named '****_Anastasia_****'. The flower had a longer name, actually, but it's mostly called Anastasia. That's the other reason why her middle name isn't Lily, because her first name is already sort of a moniker of her mother's name.**

**Obviously, to cause Petunia a bit of grief, she'll have her mother's features, right down to the awesome auburn hair and bright green eyes. Personality-wise, she's more reserved than Harry, but Hogwarts should bring her out of her shell quite a bit. I came across a fanfic where James' mother, Dorea, was a Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, so she might play alongside Harry as a Chaser, like her father was.**

**I'm going to start with a scene from Number Four, Privet Drive of Surrey, when the twins get their Hogwarts letters. From there, I'll work my way through the series.**

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><p>Dudley and Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform and, behind them, cheeks smudged with earthy brown from her morning spent weeding Aunt Petunia's garden, stood Ana. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.<p>

They heard the click of the mail slot and the flop of letters on the doormat.

"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.

"Make one of _them_ get it."

"Get the mail... one of you."

"Make Dudley get it," Harry retorted in a mimicry of his cousin's whine and his sister covered her mouth to muffle her giggles.

"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."

Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail, tailed quietly by Ana. Four things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill and- two letters, one for Harry and one for Ana.

The twins grabbed the letter with their name on it and stared at them, hearts twanging like giant elastic bands. No one, ever, in their whole lives, had written to them. Who would? They had no friends, no relatives- they didn't belong to the library, so they'd never gotten rude notes asking for books back. Yet here they were, two letters, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:

_Mr. H. Potter_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

_Ms. A. Potter_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

The envelopes were thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There were no stamps.

Turning her envelope over, her hand trembling, Ana saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.

"Harry," she spoke softly, "who sent us these letters?"

"I don't know, Ana," Harry responded, examining the matching seal on his own letter, "maybe-"

"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.

Harry, leaving his sister standing in the hall, returned to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.

Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.

"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia, "Ate a funny whelk-"

"Dad," said Dudley suddenly, "Dad, Harry's got something!"

Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.

"That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.

Ana, who'd returned to the doorway, peeked into the kitchen from the edge of the frame, having stowed away her own letter under the dingy mattress in their cupboard. She watched this turn of events silently, knowing better than to incur her Uncle Vernon's wrath on herself.

"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.

"P-P-Petunia!" He gasped.

Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.

"Vernon! Oh my goodness- Vernon!"

They stared at eachother, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room, and that Ana was watching from the doorway. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.

"I want to read that letter," he said loudly. "I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine."

"Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back into its envelope. Ana came to Harry's side and grasped his hand, aiming to pull him out of the room, "Come on, Harry, leave it."

Aunt Petunia stared at Ana with an unreadable expression on her face, as if she'd suddenly remembered that her nephew was not the only child in her household of abnormal parentage. Then, coming back to herself, she snorted with derision and uttered to herself, "the irony. She looks just like _her_, but she didn't inherit the freakishness like her brother did."

Harry didn't listen to Ana.

"I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted, and his twin recoiled.

"Let me see it!" demanded Dudley.

"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, Ana following of her own volition, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor. Ana joined him, dark red curls falling in her face.

"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address- how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"

"Watching- spying- might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly. Ana glanced at her brother confusedly, he returned her glance with equal confusion, and then returned to listening.

"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want-"

Harry and Ana could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.

"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer... Yes, that's best... we don't do anything..."

"But-"

"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took them in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"

Shortly after that, Uncle Vernon left for work, and Dudley sneered at the twin Potters before leaving to do what he did best, eat and play his video games. Harry and Ana retreated to their cupboard under the stairs and the auburn haired twin dug out her own letter.

"I haven't opened it," she spoke quietly, looking up at her brother, "I was hoping we'd be able to open them together."

"Go ahead," Harry told her, subdued anger in his voice, "I don't mind." Ana nodded and broke the seal, carefully and quietly removing the parchment from the envelope and unfolding it so she could read it. Harry scooted closer to her end of the mattress so he could read over her shoulder, emboldened by curiosity.

**_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_**

**_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_**

Before she could read any further, the cupboard door was ripped open, and Uncle Vernon gave a choked noise before snatching the letter from her hands. Harry leapt for the letter but missed, and Uncle Vernon sneered at him, "stupid boy. Petunia! The girl hid a letter!"

"What?" Aunt Petunia appeared at Uncle Vernon's elbow, and she stared down at Ana coldly, "like mother, like daughter."

"Here, Petunia," Uncle Vernon handed the letter over to Aunt Petunia, "I've got to go to work. You know what to do with it." With one last scowl at the Potter twins, the portly man shut the door, leaving the two children sitting in the muted light of the spare bulb above.

"Come on," Ana spoke sadly, "we've got to finish our chores before Uncle Vernon gets back home."

That evening after work, Uncle Vernon did something he usually never did, he visited Harry and Ana's cupboard.

"Where's our letters?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?" Behind him in the bed, Ana moaned and rolled over, sleeping deeply.

"No one. It was addressed to you by accident," said Uncle Vernon shortly, "I have burned it." His gaze moved over to the red-headed freak in the bed, angrily remembering her attempt to conceal the letter from him.

"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had our cupboard on it."

"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and Ana jerked awake as a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.

"Er... yes, Harry... about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking... you and your sister are really getting too big for it... we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."

"Why?" said Ana sleepily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Don't ask questions!" snapped their uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."

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><p><strong>It's mostly word-for-word, but I did try to deviate a bit and bring Ana into the picture. I'm trying here... I think the next scene is going to jump backwards to the zoo debacle, or forwards to Hagrid finding Harry and Ana and giving Harry his letter.I fixed this chapter so Ana didn't get to read much of her letter.<strong>

**Speaking of Ana, I've been going through the list of wand woods on _Pottermore_ to see which wand wood would suit her best, and, honestly, I think she's going to have a Willow wand like her mother and, if not Willow, maybe a Larch, Ash, or Alder. The core will be Phoenix feather or Dragon heart string, and the length will be, possibly, the same as Lily's. The pliability is still a little debatable.**


	3. Keeper of the Keys

**The Hagrid chapter... Yay! I decided that, as of this chapter, Ana didn't get to read her Hogwarts letter, so, that way, it'll be nice to see the twins getting their letters at the same time. I'm reading and copying the word-for-word portions from a PDF on my iBooks app, so it might not be formatted the same way it is in the book.**

**I'm going to run from Hagrid's arrival to them going to sleep that night, and the next shot will either cover the trip to Diagon Alley... or I might just do the wands and Hedwig, and then move on to King's Cross Station and the Weasleys.**

**Disclaimer: If I was the illustrious J.K. Rowling, then I think I'd have told you by now. *wink***

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><p>The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable without disturbing his slumbering sister, his stomach rumbling with hunger. It was a wonder Ana couldn't hear it, seeing as she was cuddled right up to him. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry that he and Ana would be eleven in ten minute's time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.<p>

Five minutes to go.

Harry heard something creak outside and Ana moaned in her sleep. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.

Four minutes to go.

Maybe the house on Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that they'd be able to steal one somehow.

Three minutes to go.

Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?

One minute to go and he and Ana would be eleven. Thirty seconds... twenty... ten... nine- maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him- three... two... one...

_BOOM._

The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Ana jerked awake with a gasp and huddled behind Harry, clutching his shoulders tightly. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.

**(A/N: Now, it's chapter four, _Keeper of the Keys._)**

_BOOM_. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. "Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.

There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands - now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.

"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you - I'm armed!"

There was a pause. Then -

_SMASH!_

The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. Anna gave a fearful whimper and buried her face in her brother's shoulder, "_Harry_..."

A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. he bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."

He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.

"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.

Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.

"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.

Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.

"Las' time I saw you, you were only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer Dad, but yeh've got yer Mum's eyes." It was then that he spotted Ana cowering behind Harry and smiled, "an' here's Anastasia!"

Ana squeaked and looked at the enormous, bearded stranger with fear and curiosity and saw the giant's beetle eyes widen, something that looked like a feat in and of itself, "my, yeh look just like yer Mum through an' through. Hardly any traces of yer old man in yeh."

Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.

"I demand that you leave at once!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.

Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.

"Anyway - Harry, Ana," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh both. Got sommat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."

From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Ana scooted around to sit next to her brother, and watched as he opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with '_Happy Birthday Harry & Ana_' written on it in green icing.

Harry allowed Ana to take the box and looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"

Ana pinched him in the side, gently chiding, "Harry, that's rude." Even though she too wanted to know who this mysterious giant person was.

The giant chuckled.

"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.

"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."

His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. he bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and the twins felt the warmth wash over them as though they'd sunk into a hot bath.

The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was filled with the soudn and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was work, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you Dudley."

The giant chuckled darkly.

"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need no fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."

Ana giggled quietly, and the giant passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he made sure to share with his twin and couldn't, for the life of him, take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed to be able to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."

The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Ana could only imagine the horrendous cringe that took hold of Aunt Petunia's face as she watched that careless action.

"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts - yeh both know all about Hogwarts, don' yeh?"

"Er - no," said Ana.

Hagrid looked shocked.

"Sorry," Harry said quickly.

"_Sorry_?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them tha' should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"All what?" asked Harry, glancing at Ana confusedly, and she returned his glance with equal confusion. Neither of them knew what the suddenly agitated giant was talking about.

"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"

He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.

"Do you mean to tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy and this girl - this _boy_ and this _girl_! - knows nothin' abou' - about _ANYTHING?_"

Ana thought this was going a bit far. She had been to school, after all, and her marks were better than almost all of the children in her class.

"I know some things," Harry said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff." But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."

"What world?"

Hagrud looked as if he was about to explode.

"DURSLEY!" he boomed._  
><em>

Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry and Ana in turn.

"But yeh must know about yer Mum and Dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. Yer both famous."

"What?" Our - our mum and dad weren't famous, were they?"

"Yeh don't know... yeh don't know..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing them both with a bewildered stare.

"Yeh don't know what yeh are?" he said finally.

Uncle Vernon finally found his voice.

"Stop!" he commanded, "stop right there! I forbid you to tell the boy or the girl anything!"

A braver man would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.

"You never told them? Never told them what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer them? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from them all these years?"

"Kept what from us?" said Ana and Harry in an eager chorus.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in a panic.

Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror, and Ana glanced over at her curiously before returning her attentions to Hagrid.

"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry - yer a wizard. Ana, yer a witch."

There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.

"- a what?" gasped Harry at the same time that Ana breathed, "a witch...?"

"A wizard an' a witch, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a pair of thumpin' good'uns, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yers, what else would yeh be? An' reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letters."

Harry held out his hand to take the pair of yellowish envelopes, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H Potter and Ms. A Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea, and handed Ana hers in a daze. The siblings pulled out their letters and read:

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr. Potter/Ms. Potter_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have beed accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry/ Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress_

Questions exploded in Harry and Ana's heads like fireworks and they couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes, Anna stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl - a real, live, rather ruffled looking owl - a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry and Ana could read upside down:

_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_Given Harry and Anastasia their letters._

_Taking them to buy their things tomorrow._

_Weather's horrible. Hope you're well._

_Hagrid_

Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Ana looked concerned for the creature, and looked incredulously at Hagrid when he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.

Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.

"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the forelight.

"They're not going," he said.

Hagrid grunted, and Harry muffled an amused snort.

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop 'em," he said.

"A what?" asked Ana, interested.

"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagical folk like them. An' it's yer bad luck you grew up in family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."

"We swore when we took them in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of them! Wizards indeed!"

"You knew?" said Harry. "You knew that we're - we're wizards?"

"_Knew_!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly, glowering hotly at Ana. "_Knew_! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that _school_ and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"

She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you two, and of course I knew you'd both be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!" Her scowl deepened as she regarded Ana coldly, "I hoped against hope that you'd be normal, _girl_, seeing as you look _just_ like her, it would've been the biggest irony if you'd turned out normal, but I guess that, even in death, my wretched sister _has_ to rub her freakish abnormality in my face!"_  
><em>

Ana had gone very white, and then stark red. As soon as she found her voice she said, "Blown up? You told us they died in a car crash!" Anger and smug satisfaction boiled hotly in her chest. It served Aunt Petunia right to be forced to deal with her and Harry's '_freakishness_' for hating their mother for something out of her control._  
><em>

"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back into their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry and Anastasia Potter not knowin' their own story when every kid in our world knows their names!"

"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.

The anger faded from Hagrid's face. he looked suddenly anxious.

"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh - but someone's gotta - yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."

He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.

"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh - mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it..."

He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with - with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows -"

"Who?"

"Well - I don't like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?"

"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was..."

Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.

"Could you write it down?" Ana suggested gently.

"Nah, can't spell it. All right - Voldemort." Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him - an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try taking the school, not jus' then, anyway."

"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head Boy an' Girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his before... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side."

"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows it, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You were just a year old. He came ter yer house an' - an' -"

Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn. Ana reached out to place a comforting hand on his forearm.

"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad - knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find - anyway..."

"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then - an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing - he tried to kill the both of yeh, too. Wanted to make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never would wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead, Harry, or that mark on yer hand, Ana? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you two, an' that's why yer both famous. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you two, an' he killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts - an' you were only babies, an' you lived."

**(A/N: To explain Ana also having a curse scar, she was very close to Harry when Voldemort started in on them. He thought one killing curse would be enough to kill both babies and, as he fired it, Ana lifted her right hand to cover Harry's right eye. I know, sounds weird, but this is how I imagined it. The curse hit the back of her hand _and _Harry's forehead, rebounded, and left scars. However, her scar isn't as big as Harry's because he had a larger exposure to it than she did. So it's a small lightning bolt. Why did she lift her hand? One year-olds do weird, random stuff, sue me.)**

Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before - and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh. A furtive glance at Ana's face told him that she'd recalled the same thing. A lone tear trickled down her soft cheek, and Harry reached out to squeeze her hand.

Hagrid was watching them both sadly.

"Took yeh from the ruined house meself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh two ter this lot..."

"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry and Ana jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certinaly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.

"Now, you listen here, brats," he snarled, "I accept there's something wrong with you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured - and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion," Ana gasped and, if anything, it seemed to spur Uncle Vernon on even more, "asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -"

But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley - I'm warning you - one more word..."

In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.

"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.

Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.

"But what happened to Vol-, sorry - I mean, You-Know-Who?"

"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh both even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see... he was gettin' more and more powerful - why'd he go?"

"Some say he died. Codswallow, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back."

"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause something about you two finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on - I dunno what it was, no one does - but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."

Hagrid looked at Harry and Ana with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned to toads every time they tried to lock him and Ana in their cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?

It was Ana who was the magical one, not him. He'd seen her out in the garden, making seedlings bloom into full-fledged blossoms in a matter of seconds, keeping the garden alive during the cold winters, and causing the vegetables to grow in large, hearty sizes. It was obvious that _she_ was magical... but what about him? What made him special? What made him magical?

Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."

To his surprise, and very slight irritation, Hagrid chuckled.

"Not a wizard, eh?" Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"

Ana smiled encouragingly at Harry as he stared into the fire. It was fairly obvious that her brother had become doubtful, but she knew, deep down inside, that both of them were magical. It wasn't just the odd phenomenons that took place around the house on Privet Drive, it was more an instinctual sense of _knowing_. She could _feel_ it, and Harry was being too thick to feel it like she did.

Now that Harry came to think about it... every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry... chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach... dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back... and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he gotten his revenge, without realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?

Harry looked back at Hagrid and Ana, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.

"See?" the Giant spoke jovially, "Harry Potter, not a wizard- you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."

"We're famous, Harry," Ana chirped, "everyone knows us and we didn't even know!"

Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.

"Haven't I told you they aren't going?" he groused. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'llbe grateful for it. I could care less about the girl. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish- spell books and wands and-"

"I want to go," Ana spoke up in a firm voice, glaring at Uncle Vernon, "anything to get away from _you_."

"Why you little-"

"If they want ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop them," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son and daughter from goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. They're names have been down ever since they were born. They're off to the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and they won't know theirselves. They'll be with youngsters of their own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbledore-"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH THEM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.

"I think he's jealous because we're going to a really awesome school and Dudley isn't." Ana whispered into Harry's ear, and the emerald eyed boy bit down on his bottom lip to contain his laughter. Both Potters were bewildered by the sight of Hagrid completely losing his temper. Uncle Vernon had gone too far, it seemed.

Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER," he thundered, "INSULT ALBUS DUMBLEDORE IN FRONT OF ME!"

He brought the umbrella swighing down through the air to point at Dudley, there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry and Ana saw a curl pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.

Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind him. Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.

"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do." he cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.

"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm- er- not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff- one of the the reasons I was so keen to take on the job."

"Why aren't you supposed to do magic, Mister Hagrid?" Ana inquired quietly, flushing when the Giant cast a look in her direction.

"Jus' Hagrid is fine, Ana," he corrected lightly, "I was at Hogwarts meself but I- er- got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."

"Why were you expelled?" Harry pressed, glancing over at his sister.

"It's getting late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all ter books an' that." He took off his thick black coat and handed it to Harry.

"You two can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter should be less word-for word. I just didn't want to leave any thing out in this scene. I'll be handling the visit to Gringott's and Oliviander's next.<strong>


	4. Diagon Alley

**Without further ado... Diagon Alley, Gringotts, Oliviander's, and Eeylop's, which means the fabulous Hedwig will be making her appearance. I haven't decided on whether or not Ana will have an owl or a cat, though... Probably a second Snowy or a Tawny... Maybe she'll find a Kneazle like Hermione... So much to think about!**

**Just to clarify, Ana's curse scar is on the back of her right hand because I noticed that, in the films, Harry's scar is a little closer to the right side of his forehead, at least it was when he first got it as a baby. Ah, whatever.**

* * *

><p>"This," Hagrid spoke up, jostling Harry and Ana from their curious trances, "is Gringotts."<p>

Ana looked up in surprise as they came to a stop before a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was-

"Tha's a goblin," the Giant explained, "fierce creatures, those lot. Don' ever want ter find yerself on the bad side of them, you'll regret it fer life. Tha's the reason why they're in charge of Gringotts."

"They don't seem like much..." Ana mumbled, pondering this information. If Hagrid, who seemed, at first, like a rather frightening fellow, could turn out to be such a big softy, then surely it wouldn't be so far of a fetch that these diminutive creatures could be a force to be reckoned with. Besides, Ana was new to this magical wizarding world, but she intended to learn as much about it as was possible for her.

"Ah, I suppose tha' appearances can be deceivin'," Hagrid shrugged, "but they're a lot tougher than they look. Come on, then," he smiled down at the pair, "let's get to yer vault so we can get yer school things out of the way."

The trio made their way up the white stone steps towards the goblin, who cast a cursory glance towards them, and bowed as they passed through the bronze doors. A pink flush overtook Ana's cheeks at this action, and Harry gave an amused chortle at her expense.

"Don't tell me you fancy him, Ana." Harry teased. Ana promptly slugged him in the arm and turned to look as they paused before a second set of doors, these being silver in color and engraved with a jaunty little warning:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been waned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

"See?" Hagrid chortled, "Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it."

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, wieghing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of the these. The odd trio made for the counter.

"Morning," Hagrid spoke to a goblin who wasn't attending to a task. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter and Ms. Anastasia Potter's vault."

"You have their key, Sir?" the gobling responded, glancing over the counter at Harry and Ana, who stood back, watching the proceedings quietly. The auburn haired twin wandered a little ways away to examine a painting.

"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watch the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.

"Got it," Hagrid, at long last, held up a tiny golden key.

The goblin looked at it closely.

"That seems to be in order."

Ana returned to Harry's side, and the two of them exchanged a curious glance as the Giant pulled out a slightly wrinkled envelope and handed it over to the goblin.

"I've got this letter from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

"_You-Know-What_?" Ana whispered to Harry, "_first, there's a You-Know-Who, and now there's a You-Know-What_."_  
><em>

"_Makes you wonder what other You-Know's there are._" Harry responded with a chuckle, and Ana rolled her eyes, "_there probably aren't anymore, you silly git._"

"Very well," the sound of the goblin's voice pulled their attentions back to the proceedings, and they watched as he handed Dumbledore's letter back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you three down to both vaults. Griphook!"

Griphook, yet another goblin, appeared and gestured for the trio to follow him. Once Hagrid had crammed the dog biscuits back into his pockets, he and the Potters followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked. Ana pinched him in the side, "Harry, that's probably none of your business."

"Yer sister's right, Harry, I can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

"_Oh, like you didn't want to know,_" Harry hissed back to Ana, "_I could see it in your eyes_."

"_Well, excuse me for actually having the restraint to not ask about things that aren't any of my business to know,_" Ana shot back, "_your curiosity's going to get you snuffed one of these days, you toerag._"

Griphook gave a whistle, and the Potter twins glanced up, taking in the narrow stone passageway they were in, lit by torches on the walls. A small cart came hurtling up the railroad tracks that, belatedly, Ana had noticed on the floor, and she watched as Griphook climbed into it.

"Are we... are we meant to...?"

"Yes, Ms. Potter," Griphook sounded as if he were extremely bored with them, "please climb into the cart." Ana blushed and climbed into the cart, closely followed by Harry. The two eleven year-olds settled in and looked up at Hagrid, who suddenly looked very uneasy.

"Are you coming, Sir?" Griphook inquired, "we are rather busy today, so-"

"I'm comin'," Hagrid spoke somewhat shakily, "give me a minute." After a few seconds, the Giant squeezed himself into the cart - somewhat difficultly - and clenched his eyes shut. Ana raised a brow at this, and then realized the reason for the odd actions when the cart began to hurtle down the tracks at an extremely high speed.

The air was cold and frigid as it rushed past them, whipping through Ana's hair and causing her eyes to sting and water. She noted that Griphook wasn't steering the cart, and she bit her lip, wondering whether or not it was alright that the cart seemed to be in charge of their passage. She heard Harry ask Hagrid something as they flew past an underground lake, which probably would've looked spectacular had they not been moving so quickly, but couldn't make out his words over the sound of the wind whipping past her ears.

The cart came to a stop outside of a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean agaisnt the wall to stop his knees from trembling. Ana flinched at the tinge of green in his cheeks and carefully climbed out of the cart. She and Harry watched as Griphook got out the cart and unlocked the door. A burst of green smoke came billowing out and as it cleared, Ana gasped.

"Look at all the gold coins," she uttered, gobsmacked, "and the silver." Ana recognized the pile of bronze Knuts at once, recalling Harry's experience with the post owl that morning, but she didn't know what the gold and silver coins were called. It was obvious that the Dursleys hadn't known about this, they would've had it and spent all of it on Dudley's presents by now.

"What are the gold ones called?"

"Galleons," Hagrid responded as he helped Harry and Ana fill two separate bags with some of the riches, "an' the silver ones are Sickles. Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"

"One speed only," said Griphook and, if Ana wasn't mistaken, the goblin seemed amused.

*Vault seven hundred and thirteen*

It was incredibly chilly down here, at what Ana thought would be the bottom of the bank, but probably wasn't. She rubbed her arms vigorously to draw heat from the friction, watching silently as Griphook approached the door to the vault which, she noted, had no keyhole. _How is he supposed to..._

"Stand back," Griphook's voice gave off an air of importance. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. "If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there."

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin. Ana gave a shudder and hoped that no one had been foolish enough to try and get into the vault, though she knew, judging by Griphook's voice, that there'd probably been a few bold wizards who'd tried and failed at their conquest. She chose to ignore that bit and continued to rub at her arms.

Griphook stepped back, and Ana rolled her eyes as she watched Harry rubbernecking to try and get a glimpse of what was inside. From where she was standing, however, she had a clear view of what was inside, and there was nothing more than a grubby little package wrapped in brown paper on the floor. Hagrid grabbed it and tucked it deep in his coat, and Ana hid a laugh as Harry's eyes burned with the desire to ask about the package.

One wild cart ride later, the odd trio was standing on the steps of Gringotts, blinking at the bright sunlight.

"Listen, you two," Hagrid still looked as if he were going to hurl, "I'm going to slip off fer a pick-me-up at the Leaky Cauldron. Yeh should start off with yer robes over at Madam Malkin's, she'll know what ter do. I hate them Gringotts carts."

"It's okay, Hagrid," Ana smiled, "we can figure it out. Come on, Har." A ball of nervous butterflies erupted in her gut as Hagrid stumbled off, leaving them alone in front of Madam Malkin's shop.

"Well then," Harry swallowed thickly, "no use hanging out here. Let's go in." Ana nodded nervously and followed her twin into the quaint shop. Madam Malkin, a squat, cheery witch dressed in mauve, was waiting for them just inside.

"Hogwarts First years, Dears?" she asked, "don't worry your little heads off, I know just what to do. There's another young man being fitted up right now, he'll be starting his first year at Hogwarts, too."

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him and slipped a long black robe over his head and began pinning it to the proper length. A third witch stood Ana on a stool next to Harry and slipped a robe over her head.

"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," said Harry. Ana remained quiet, watching the witch's skilled hands as she quickly and precisely pinned her robes for her.

"What about you?" the pale boy leaned forward a bit to look around Harry at Ana, "are you going to Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," Ana flushed a light pink, "I am."

"She's my sister." Harry explained, and Ana huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Ah," the boy nodded once. "My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," he spoke somewhat haughtily, much to Ana's distaste. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

_Wow,_ Ana thought, _I think he and Dudley would be the best of friends_.

"Have you got your own brooms?" the boy went on.

"No," Harry answered in a bored voice, and Ana knew that he'd seen the similarities to their greedy cousin in him as well as she had.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"I'm sorry, but what's Quidditch?" Ana piped up, leaning a bit to see the boy's face.

"You don't know what _Quidditch _is?" the boy looked positively scandalized, and Harry bit down on his lip to keep from laughing at the higher pitch his voice had taken on, "surely you're _joking_."

"I'm not joking," Ana furrowed her brow, "what's Quidditch?"

"Only the most popular wizarding sport in all of wizarding sports," the boy still looked positively gobsmacked, "you'll find out more about it when term begins. Merlin," he shook his head. "I can't believe you don't know about Quidditch. Do you know what House you'd like to be sorted in? I'm hoping for Slytherin, father says that it's the best House to be in and only the most powerful wizards and witches come from Slytherin. All our family's been in Slytherin - I'd think that being in Hufflepuff would be the worst - I'd leave if that happened, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm," said Harry, wishing inwardly that the boy would say something that he could actually understand.

"I say, look at that man!" said the pale boy suddenly, nodding towards the front window. Ana followed his nod and saw Hagrid in the window smiling and gesturing to the three large ice cream cones he held to show that he couldn't come in.

"That's Hagrid," said Ana, hoping that the boy would shut his mouth. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh," said the boy, "I've ehard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he."

"_Servant_?" Ana asked, "Hagrid's the gamekeeper." A bit of a scowl was beginning to form on her face at the sound of the pale boy's apparent disdain for her new friend, "I don't see what's wrong with being a servant, a job is a job and whatnot."

"I'd rather not have a job than be a _servant_," the boy all but sneered, "I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunks, tries to do magic and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"You only _heard_ those things, I have no reason to believe you unless you actually _saw_ it happen," Ana shot back, "I think he's quite brilliant."

"Do you?" said the rude boy with a sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," said Harry shortly. Ana scowled and muttered, "_not that it's any of your business_."

"Oh, sorry," said the other boy, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

"They were some of the brightest witches and wizards of their age, if that's what you mean." Ana spoke proudly.

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

But before either Potter could answer, Madam Malkin said, "that's it, you're done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool. The witch attending to Ana gestured for her to do the same.

"Well, I'll see you both at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.

"_I certainly should hope not._" Ana uttered quietly to Harry as they left the shop. She could feel the boy's intense silvery gaze on her back as the door swung shut behind her.

"That boy in Madam Malkin's was a right git, Hagrid," Ana told Hagrid as she took the ice cream he offered from him, "he said such rude things about you."

"Ah, don' worry about me, Ana, I've got thick skin," Hagrid smiled, "people have always got somethin' ter say about me, an' I've gotten used ter it over the years."

Harry licked his chocolate and raspberry cone in stoic silence, and Ana shook her head vehemently, "it's not fair that he said those things and he's never even met you, Hagrid. He only had rumors to go off of."

"Leave it, An," Harry spoke gruffy, patting his twin on her arm, "no need to go off on a tangent over it, Hagrid's fine. Don't give that git the satisfaction of getting to you. Hagrid," the messy haired boy looked up at the Giant, "what's Quidditch? The git in Madam Malkin's was talking about Quidditch and brooms and-"

"Blimey, I keep forgettin' how little you two know - not knowin' about Quidditch!"

"he said that people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in." Ana spoke in a cold tone, "our mum was a muggle and she was a brilliant witch!"

"He probably didn't know who he was speakin' to, Ana," Hagrid soothed, "if he'd realized just who he was dealin' with, he would've been singin' a different tune. Some of the best wizards and witches I've known come from a long line of muggles, like yer mum. Look at what she had for a sister! That boy doesn't know nothin' about anything, that's all it was."

"What's Quidditch?"

"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like - like soccer in the Muggle world - everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"

"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers but-"

"I'd rather be a duffer Hufflepuff than stuck in Slytherin with that boring git," Ana said soundly. "I couldn't imagine spending more than five minutes with him without wanting to snuff it."

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."

"Vol- sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" Ana furrowed her brow, "I'd think that they would've turned someone like him away..."

"He wasn't always the way he was, Ana," the Giant scowled at the memory. "An' it was years an' years ago. Back then he was still kinda normal-like. Didn't go bad until after he left Hogwarts."

*Eeylop's and Oliviander's*

"Alright, we've got our robes, our potion kits, our cauldrons, scales, telescopes, books... now we need to get our wands," Ana looked up from her school supply list, "and we can get animals."

"Animals?" Harry questioned, "like multiple animals?"

"No, you silly git," Ana laughed, "we can have an owl, a toad, or a cat."

"Yeh should get owls," Hagrid suggested, "dead useful critters, they carry yer mail and everything."

Twenty minutes later, the trio left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling cages and glittering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry and Ana each carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, Harry's was fast asleep with her head tucked under her wing, while Ana's was wide awake, looking around with her bright amber eyes. According to the owner, both owls had come from the same brood of owlets.

Harry was stammering like Professor Quirrell, trying to thank Hagrid for the owls, and Ana smiled at her brother's attempt to tell the Giant, yet again, that he didn't have to buy them their owls. She'd already thanked Hagrid, knowing that there was no use trying to deter someone from doing a good deed.

"Harry, he wanted to by us a birthday present, stop throwing it back in his face," Ana said at last. "I'm pretty sure Hagrid's well-aware that he didn't have to do it, but he wanted to, so stop acting barmy, you toerag."

"Let's head over to Olliviander's," Hagrid said with a chuckle at the ferocity in Ana's green eyes. "Only place fer wands, Olliviander's, and yeh gotta have the best wands."

"Good," Ana smiled mischeivously, "maybe I can use mine to stop Harry from acting like a barmy git every time someone does something nice for him."

"Leave off, Ana." Harry flushed slightly.

*Olliviander's*

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as Ana, Harry, and Hagrid stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Ana looked up at the thousands upon thousand of narrow boxes piled to the ceiling, wondering which one would be her wand.

"I wonder what kind of wands Mum and Dad had." she whispered to Harry, who was also looking at the boxes and seemed to be brimming with questions. He nodded at her and looked over her shoulder. A soft voice came from behind Ana and she turned to face the owner at once.

An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Hello," Ana said awkwardly. Harry did an odd wave with one of his hands.

"Ah, yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing the two of you soon. Harry and Anastasia Potter." It wasn't a question, and his eyes fell solely on Harry. "you have your mother's eyes, and you," he looked to Ana, "it's as though I've jumped back in time to when she first came in herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishing, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

Mr. Olliviander moved closer to Harry, who seemed mystified with the man. Ana watched him as well, wishing she could blink. The old man's silvery eyes and strange stare were a bit creepy.

"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

Mr. Olliviander's gaze shifted to Harry's forehead, eyeing the lightning bolt scar through the messy hair spread over his forehead, "Ah... and that's where..." He touched the scar with a long finger, and then turned his creepy gaze back to Ana, "and yours?"

Wordlessly, Ana flipped her right hand over, showing the smaller lightning bolt etched into the center of the back of her right hand, bright red against her pale skin. The old man seemed morose as he took both scars in.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that made those scars," he said softly. "Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."

He shook his head and then, to Harry and Ana's relief, spotted Hagrid.

"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.

"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Olliviander, suddenly stern. Ana and Harry shared a quick look. They knew Hagrid had gotten expelled and that his wand had been snapped.

"Yes, sir, it was..." Hagrid looked down, and then said in a bright voice, "but I've still got the pieces, though."

"And I can trust that you aren't using them?" the wand shop owner asked sternly.

"Oh no, of course not, sir."

"Good," Mr. Olliviander turned back to Harry and Ana, "now, which one is your wand arm?" As he asked, he pulled out two long tape measures with silver markings.

"Um... I'm right-handed," Harry responded, holding out his right arm. One of the tape measures began measuring his arm at once as Olliviander turned his attentions to Ana, "and you, Ms. Potter?"

"Right handed, sir." The second tape measure began taking measurements of her right arm.

The measures were floating in the air as they measured the Potters' arms, legs, height, width, and other things. Olliviander was taking down boxes from the shelves, moving around rather energetically for a man his age. The sprightly man placed a plethora of boxes on a chair and perused the selections carefully before selecting one.

"Here you go, Ms. Potter, Dogwood, nine and three quarter inches, unicorn core and slightly bendy." he opened the box. Ana eyed the wand, "do I just..."

"Grasp the wand, yes," Olliviander nodded eagerly. The Potter girl nodded and grabbed the wand. Before she could even lift it out of the box, Olliviander was already pulling it from her grasp.

"Mr. Potter," he grabbed another box, "Beechwood, dragon heart string core. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Give it a nice wave, if you please." He opened the box and allowed Harry to take hold of the wand, and then picked another box from his pile, "Ms. Potter. Pear, seven and a half inches, dragon heart string core, very swishy."

Harry gave the Beechwood wand an awkward wave, and Olliviander shook his head, "I have a feeling that you two will be the most interesting customers of all I've ever had." He then took the beechwood wand and put it back in its box, grabbing another box, "Maple and phoenix feather core. Seven inches. Quite whippy."

Ana handed the Pear wand back, and was offered another box, "Silver lime and unicorn, eight and a quarter inches, rigid. Give me that wand, Mr. Potter." Olliviander had Harry place the maple wand back in its box.

"No... Yes, try this one. Ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Give it a nice flick, Mr. Potter."

The silver lime wand, while gorgeous, failed to produce for Ana, and Olliviander took it back, replacing it with another, "Acacia, ten inches, dragon heart string core, hint of pliability."

Harry and Ana tried and tried. The pile of attempted wand boxes was starting to become somewhat worrisome, and Ana wondered if she'd ever find her wand. The wandmaker refused to stop trying, however.

"Hmm..." Olliviander held two boxes up for inspection, "these two are unusual... Why not? Mr. Potter, here you are," the wandmaker was exuding confidence as he held out the first box to Harry, "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. Ms. Potter," he offered the second box, "Willow and phoenix feather, ten and half inches, slightly bendy. I believe you may take after your mother in more than looks."

"Okay..." Harry and Ana shared a look and reached out to take the wands offered to them. Instantly, a comforting warmth swept through their fingers, and they gave the wands a simultaneous swish. Harry's wand gave off a spout of red and gold sparks like fireworks, and the tip of Ana's wand glowed with cheery gold light, emitting a few sparks.

Hagrid cheered enthusiastically from his seat, and Olliviander looked between the siblings curiously, biting his bottom lip. "I gave you those two wands because they were "siblings" in the sense that the same phoenix produced the tail feather that lies at the core, and it would be fitting that you two would claim those wands, but... there is a third wand with a phoenix feather from the very same phoenix, and its owner is the one who gave you these scars... It's poetic and fitting that you two would be destined to claim these wands."

Olliviander looked between Harry and Ana again, a strange smile on his lips, "a great destiny awaits you both, Harry and Anastasia Potter. That'll be seven galleons each."

* * *

><p><strong>When I came up with the idea to give them both a wand with the same phoenix feather core, I was thinking about the three-way duel between Dumbledore, Aberforth, and Grindelwald that killed Ariana. I tried to do some deviation from the book, and I tried to do some character building for Ana, but I don't think it worked too well.<strong>

**Anna's owl will be named Elspeth. It's Scottish and I discovered it while playing Runescape a couple of months ago. So Hedwig and Elspeth.**

**I'm not planning on this becoming a full-fledged story, I started this because I wanted to play with different scenes, and I'm not in a position where I can do an HP fic because I start college in less than a month. I sincerely apologize if that was what you were hoping for, I just wanted to give HP fanfic writing a shot before I started school and didn't have time to do any writing. Again, I'm very sorry.**

**~_CloudSpires1295_~**


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